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Australia-based CyberCX launched its Annual Threat Assessment last week to provide an Australian-centric threat analysis.
Cyber security firm CyberCX launched its Annual Threat Assessment last week, shining a spotlight on the changing characteristics of Australia’s cyber security threats and industry.
In a statement, CyberCX demonstrated that Australian companies require cyber security threat assessments collected by Australians who intimately understand the Australian market. The assessment will showcase emerging threats in the cyber security industry, and forecast how cyber crime may yet evolve over the coming year.
In this year’s assessment, CyberCX describes how criminals have wielded COVID-19 in their operations.
Alastair MacGibbon, chief strategy officer for CyberCX, expressed that the speed in which cyber criminals operate and exploit their targets is increasing.
“What we’ve seen with recent compromises, such as Accellion and now Microsoft Exchange, is that cyber criminals and nation-state actors are rapidly exploiting vulnerabilities when they become known,” MacGibbon said.
“Threat actors are moving so quickly, and the time frames have become so narrow, that if you don’t patch within a few hours, you should assume you are at risk of compromise and take action accordingly.”
CEO of CyberCX, John Paitaridis, further commented that COVID’s remote working phenomena has made networks harder to track, and easier for cyber criminals to exploit.
“Over the last year, we’ve seen digital transformation accelerate for organisations pivoting during the pandemic, embracing new ways of working and doing business,” Paitaridis said.
“These real-world trends correspond to real, evolving threats in the cyber landscape. Our deep understanding of the threat landscape enables us to respond at scale to these threats and help keep our customers secure.”
[Related: Elective surgeries halted following suspected cyber attack]
Liam Garman is the managing editor of professional services, real estate and security at Momentum Media. He began his career as a speech writer at New South Wales Parliament before working for world leading campaigns and research agencies in Sydney and Auckland. Throughout his career, Liam has managed and executed international media campaigns spanning politics, business, industrial relations and infrastructure. He’s since shifted his attention to writing on politics and business, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Sydney and a Masters from UNSW Canberra with a thesis on postmodernism and media ecology.